Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Request for Help…

On Friday, September 9, I will be doing a FaceBook Live interview with Peggy Farren of Understand Photography in conjunction with my visit to Naples, FL to do a program for DPI-SIG on Saturday morning. Details on that will follow on the blog soon.

In the meantime, we need your help. If you have a question or questions about bird photography, about the business of photography, or about me that you have been dying to ask, please leave it or them in a comment below.

Selling Your Used Gear Through BIRDS AS ART

Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog or via a BAA Online Bulletin is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charges a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly–I offer free pricing advice, usually sells in no time flat. In the past few months, we have sold just about everything in sight. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 500mm, the EOS-7D, and the original 400mm IS DO lens have been dropping steadily. You can see all current listings by clicking here or by clicking on the Used Photo Gear tab on the yellow-orange tab on the right side of the menu bar above.

Used Gear Sales Continue to be Brisk

• The sale of Mike Hansen’s Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens in excellent plus condition for $1599 is pending.
• Multiple IPT veteran Bill Lloyd sold his Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO II USM lens in mint condition for $5,999. in mid-August.
• Many multiple IPT-veteran Mike Goldhamer sold his Canon EOS-5D Mark III in excellent plus condition for $1550.
• Eric Karl sold his Canon 7D Mark II camera in like-new condition with the BG-E16 battery grip for $1,099 in mid-August.
• Tom Mast sold his Canon 300mm f/4L IS USM lens in excellent condition for $625 in late July.
• Henry Raymundo sold his Gitzo 1325 tripod and a Wimberley V-2 head both in very good plus condition for the very low price of $699 and two used Canon 100-400mm IS L Zoom lenses, one in excellent condition for $599, the other in very good plus condition for $549–all in late July.
• Jonathan Ward sold his Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS II USM lens in excellent condition for $2,000 CAD in early July.
• Long ago multiple IPT veteran Charles McRae sold his Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS lens in good to very good condition in early July for a record low $4,199.
• Jeffrey Fredberg sold his EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM L series lens in like-new condition for the record-low BAA price of $749 in late June.
• Jim Burns sold his Canon 200-400mm F/4L IS zoom lens with Internal 1.4X Extender in brand new condition for the insane BAA record-low price of $8499 in late June.

New Listings

Apple Mac Book Pro with 15.4 inch Retina Display

Sold in Ten Minutes!

Peter Noyes is offering an Apple MacBook Pro with 15.4 inch Retina Display, 16 GB memory, 1 TB Flash Drive, 2.8 GHZ Intel Core I7 processor, and Force-Touch keypad in excellent condition for $1,199. The sale includes the includes a G Technology 1 TB G Drive mobile hard drive with Thunderbolt, an Apple USB Super DVD/CD Drive, and an Apple Magic Mouse. The items will be shipped by insured ground shipping via major courier to US addresses only. Your laptop will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Peter via e-mail or by phone at 1-567-356-0878 (eastern time).

This is the first used laptop ever offered here. It is virtually the same machine that I have been using every day for more than two years. The screen is superb and the processing is super fast (except for NIK Color Efex Pro :() Peter bought the unit new from B&H for $3,100 just about one year ago. Try as he might, he could just not get used to the Mac. This is a great machine and a huge bargain.

Canon EF 400mm f/4 IS DO Lens

The Lowest-ever BAA Price!

Multiple IPT-veteran Mike Goldhamer is offering a used Used Canon EF 400mm f/4 IS DO lens in excellent condition for the record low price of $2100. The sale includes the a Camo LensCoat, the 4th Generation Design CP-42 Arca-Swiss compatible lens plate, the lens trunk with keys, the front cover, the rear lens cap, and insured ground shipping via major courier. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Mike via e-mail or by phone at 619-888-6183 (Pacific time).

I used this lens for several years with great success, especially for birds in flight and while working from various type of water craft. In addition, it would make a great prime super-telephoto lens for folks with a 7D II. Gannets in Love was created with the 400 DO. You can see that one and 13 other killer images that I made with my old 400 DO here. The title of that blog post is “The Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO Lens: Fourteen Images that Prove that the Internet Experts are Idiots.” Mike’s lens is priced to sell. artie

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens

First-ever BAA Used 100-400II!

Mike Hansen is offering a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens in excellent plus condition (with just a few small paint chips on the lens foot)for $1599. The glass is flawless. The sale includes the rear lens cap, original tough front lens cover, the original soft carrying/storage case, and insured ground shipping via major courier to US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Mike via e-mail or by phone at 312-497-9144, central time.

Y’all know how much I use and love my 1-4II for its incredible sharpness (even with the 1.4X TC), it’s amazing versatility, and its hard-to-believe close focus. artie

Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM Lens

Price Reduced $125 on August 20, 2016.

Ron Ozuna is offering a Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM lens in near-mint condition for $2850 (was $2975). The sale includes the original lens front lens cover, the rear lens cap, the lens trunk, the original Canon product box, and insured Ground Shipping via FedEx Ground to US addresses only. This lens was recently cleaned and checked at the Canon Service Center in Costa Mesa, CA. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Ron via e-mail or by phone at 1-626-799-7616 (Pacific time).

The older version of the Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS is a super sharp lens that is great for hand held flight and action photography and great with both teleconverters. It has long been the favorite focal length of the world’s best hawk photographers. artie

What’s Up?

My flight from Islip got into Orlando about 30 minutes early just after 9am on Friday. Jim picked me up after I got my two check bags. We stopped at Publix and the fish store and arrived in ILE just before noon. It feels good to be home and back in my own pool. After eating about 9 jars of cashew butter, almond butter, and sunflower butter on my 5 week trip, I face the scale tomorrow morning. I will be happy if I gained less than five pounds… Anyway, I am back on track today and can wait to get the weight off as I am feeling very, shall we say, fat…

Including the time spent editing the original review and gathering the images and the captions this blog post took more than 12 hours to prepare…

The Streak

Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, irrational, illogical, preposterous, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, what’s wrong with this guy?, makes-no-sense, 282 days in a row with a new educational blog post. There should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. Or not… As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major gear purchases. For best results use one of our many product-specific links; after clicking on one of those you can continue shopping with all subsequent purchases invisibly tracked to BAA. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated. Please remember: web orders only. And please remember also that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.

This image was created by Arash Hazeghi with the hand held Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens and the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II with 64GB Card and Reader. ISO 1000. 1/3200 sec. at f/4. artie note: If you think that it is easy hand holding this combo pick one up the next time that you are in the vicinity... Image #1: Juvenile Peregrine Falcon screaming in flight Courtesy of and copyright 2016: Arash Hazeghi See what the folks on BirdPhotographer’s.Net had to say about this image here.

Please…

Please leave a comment letting us know which of Arash’s images below is your favorite and why.

Before…

Many folks will assume that if they own the gear that Arash does (600 II, 400 DO II, both Series III TCs, and a 1DX Mark II), that they will easily be able to go out and make images like those shared with you here. Before you order your 1DX Mark II (using my B&H affiliate link of course–thank you very much) be sure to read tomorrow’s blog post: Counterpoint.

Do Understand

Do understand that the collection of superb images here are due more to the following factors than to Arash’s choice of gear….

#1: Arash puts in long hours of hard work in the field.
#2: Arash has above average strength, stamina, and hand-eye coordination.
#3: Arash practices, practices, and then practices some more.
#4: Arash is fiercely determined and is blessed with far above average intelligence…

Arash has been a BirdPhotographers.Net member since 2008 and is currently one of our top Avian moderators.

EOS-1D X Mark II Field Review
by Arash Hazeghi

(Notes: the text below was originally edited and later amended for the blog by yours truly. It is re-published here with Arash’s permission. You can click on the horizontal images to enjoy a spectacular larger version.)

Introduction

The EOS-1D series is at the pinnacle of the still cameras within the Canon brand; it is the workhorse camera body of many professionals that gets the job done, day in and day out, no matter the conditions. With the introduction of the EOS-1D X in 2011, Canon moved from the 16 Mega-pixel APS-H (1.3X crop) sensor in the EOS-1D Mark IV to an 18 Mega-pixel full-frame sensor in the EOS 1D X while delivering 12 fps RAW continuous shooting speed. The EOS-1D X set the standard for both AF and high ISO performance for Canon users. In my review of the EOS 1D X, I found it great for photographing birds in flight. Five years later, the EOS-1D X remains the camera of choice for myself and for many other working professionals specializing in wildlife, sports, action photography as well as photo-journalism.

In February 2016, Canon announced the much-anticipated successor to the EOS-1D X, the EOS-1D X Mark II. The second iteration of the “X” family features a 20.8 Mega-pixel full-frame sensor. The continuous RAW shooting speed has been increased from 12 fps to 14 fps. The EOS-1D X Mark II is compatible with CFAST2.0 memory cards and the interface enables it to read and write to CFAST2.0 media at very high speeds (>500MB/sec). This means that the buffer depth during continuous shooting has significantly increased when shooting RAW as compared to the EOS-1D X which is limited by its UDMA7 interface. The EOS-1D X Mark II also features 4K video recording and many advanced video-related features. Since I do not shoot video, I’ll skip these functions for this review. Perhaps the most notable upgrade relative to the EOS-1DX for still shooters is the new high density reticular AF II system. It is completely new and includes major hardware and software improvements as Chuck Westfall, Canon U.S.A.’s technical adviser explained to me a few months ago.

Externally, there is little difference between the two cameras. The button layout is identical. This means that EOS 1D X users will feel at home; they can grab the new camera and start shooting. The EOS-1D X Mark II has a slightly deeper grip, but overall it feels very similar to the EOS-1D X. Both bodies weigh 54 oz. (1530 grams).

The EOS-1DX Mark II features a USB 3.0 port as well as a headphone jack for video recording. The 3-pin remote control terminal has now moved to the right side of the camera just above the vertical shutter release to make room for the headphone jack.

The EOS-1D X Mark II features a higher resolution LCD that is also touch sensitive. In practice, it is hard to tell the difference between this screen and the lower resolution screen on the EOS-1D X; both have very high DPI. The touch function can only be used for Live View focusing. To focus, simply tap on the subject on the screen and the camera focuses instantly. The Live View AF is much faster with the EOS-1D X Mark II than with the original 1D X thanks to the new dual-pixel CMOS AF, a simplified form of phase-detect AF that uses the pixels on the imaging sensor. The camera focuses almost instantly and without any hunting; the EOS-1D X on the other hand, takes a second or two to lock focus in LV mode and it often hunts (sometimes forever in low light…)

It’s a shame however, that the touch screen cannot be used to operate other camera functions such as image review. Basic functions, such as zoom using a two-finger pinch or browsing by swiping would have been nice. This would make the image review much easier when the camera is attached to a big white super-telephoto lens such as the EF 600mm f/4 IS II and placed vertically on the ground or is attached to a gimbal or a harness system. I hope Canon can add such functions via a firmware upgrade. Still lacking are back-lit buttons that would make it much easier to operate the camera in the dark.

Canon has also redesigned the joystick on the 1D X Mark II for both the horizontal and the vertical grip. It is now slightly larger. I set the joystick to directly select the AF sensor on all my Canon bodies.

The EOS-1DX Mark II also features a new battery back, the LP-E19, and a new charger. It has a higher capacity (2700 mAh) compared to the LP-E4N (2450 mAh) used in the EOS-1D X. The EOS 1D-X Mark II and the supplied charger are backwards compatible with the old battery but the continuous shooting speed will decrease to 12 fps. In practice, the battery life of the EOS-1D X Mark II is excellent. I could easily get 2500+ shots on a single charge even with the GPS on. The GPS module doesn’t seem to drain the battery as much as it does with the EOS 7D Mark II where I have to make sure the GPS remains off. Just like the old chargers, the new dual-charger can only charge one battery at a time instead of both batteries at the same time; I wish Canon would address this issue.

Overall the EOS-1D X Mark II remains similar to the EOS-1D X in form, size, and weight.

This image was created by Arash Hazeghi with the hand held Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 2X III, and the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II with 64GB Card and Reader. ISO 5000. 1/2000 sec. at f/8. artie note: In my 33+ years of bird photograph I do not have a single flight image of this speedy species. Image #2: Green Heron in flight. Courtesy of and copyright 2016: Arash Hazeghi See what the folks on BirdPhotographer’s.Net had to say about this image here.

Image Quality Comparison

In this section we will compare the RAW image quality of the EOS-1DX Mark II to the EOS-1D X, which is the current high ISO champion among EOS bodies. At low ISOs there is hardly any difference between the cameras. As I rarely use ISOs lower than 800, I did comparative testing at ISO 800, 1600, 3200 and 6400. There is little difference between the high ISO noise characteristics of the EOS-1D X and the EOS-1D X Mark II. Both sensors operate close to the shot noise limit–the fundamental limit of an image sensor–and are free of any pattern noise. (“Shot noise” or “photon shot noise” is the noise in an image that is the result of light’s inherent randomness. For an excellent article on shot noise click here.) The grain, when using Canon DPP 4.4 for RAW conversions, is very tight and can be easily removed NeatImage noise reduction (as detailed in the Post Processing Guide) without affecting the fine feather detail.

I also compared image quality for a simulated wildlife subject. I attached real game feathers to a decoy owl and took side by side test shots with EOS-1D X and 1D-X Mark II. The images were shot in ambient light with EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II mounted on a tripod. A remote cable release was used. I then converted the CR2 files using Canon DPP 4.4 using the most optimal settings for each camera as outlined in the new DPP4.4 RAW Conversion Guide. Canon DPP uses proprietary demosaicing and noise reduction algorithms tailored to each camera’s imaging sensor; these do a great job of suppressing grain at high ISO settings without degrading critical feather detail.

Again, the high ISO results were almost identical. Although both cameras go to some insanely high ISOs, the highest ISO with an acceptable image quality for me is typically ISO 6400. Beyond that, the image becomes so noisy that it is impossible to produce a large, high quality. For web presentation or for small prints, the higher ISOs could be used with careful processing. During the tests I also noticed that Auto White Balance was much more accurate with the EOS-1DX Mark II than with the original 1D X where I have always had to set the WB manually to get an accurate color rendition.

Low ISO Fixed Pattern Noise

The EOS 1DX Mark II seems to also have improved the fixed pattern noise (FPN) that is often seen in uniform areas when raising very deep shadows at low ISOs or during very long exposures or when trying to recover a severely underexposed image. At high ISOs, the signal to noise ratio is limited by shot noise so the user will not observe fixed pattern noise. Therefore, this issue is irrelevant to the majority of the EOS-1D users who stick to high ISOs for action and low light photography. Having shot with the EOS-1D X for four years I cannot recall even one instance where I encountered this issue; nevertheless it is a welcomed improvement.

Overall, the RAW image quality of the EOS-1D X Mark II is quite similar to the image quality attained with the EOS-1D X when shooting birds in flight or in action at high ISOs.

This image was created by Arash Hazeghi with the hand held Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II with 64GB Card and Reader. ISO 3200. 1/2500 sec. at f/5.6. artie note: This combination is hand holdable by some but not all folks. But it is way lighter than the 600 II/1DX II duo… Image #3: Juvenile Cooper’s Hawk taking flight. Courtesy of and copyright 2016: Arash Hazeghi See what the folks on BirdPhotographer’s.Net had to say about this image here.

Field Results/AF

So far, it doesn’t look like the EOS-1D X Mark II is really a significant upgrade to the EOS-1D X for still photographers. But that’s not the end of the story. The AF software and hardware have been completely overhauled in the EOS-1D X Mark II. AF is the single most important factor for photographers who like to shoot wildlife in action and in particular, birds in flight.

For two weeks after I got my new camera body, we had cloudy skies and showers here in northern CA. I only had two opportunities to test the camera at my regular locations. First I worked with my EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II and the 2X Extender III. This combination had proven quite capable with the EOS-1D X, but it offered only the center AF point. The first time I tried this combo with the EOS-1D X Mark II I was simply blown away by the AF performance. The percentage of critically sharp files was noticeably higher when shooting birds in flight in low light. At times, I forgot that I was shooting at f/8…

This image was created by Arash Hazeghi with the hand held Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 2X III, and the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II with 64GB Card and Reader. ISO 10,000. 1/1500 sec. at f/8. artie note: ISO 10,000? You gotta be kidding me. Image #4: Forster’s tern with fish. Courtesy of and copyright 2016: Arash Hazeghi See what the folks on BirdPhotographer’s.Net had to say about this image here.

The example above at ISO 10,000 is certainly above my comfort zone; it was taken after sunset. The catchlight was added in post processing. It is meant to demonstrate the AF capabilities of the EOS 1DX Mark II in extreme low light/low contrast situations with a maximum aperture of f/8. The original EOS-1DX (and pretty much any other camera on the market) will often just quit trying to track the subject in such low light conditions. This lucky tern was flying fast as it was being chased by other terns.

In many cases I got 80%-90% tack-sharp files in burst sequences with this combo. This is a noticeably higher percentage than what I was getting with the EOS-1D X. Some of the improvement comes from the fact that all AF points are now available; thus, I can use a larger expansion mode; with the 1DX Mark II I often use AF Expand/Surround (8 AF points surrounding the center) for birds in flight. Lastly, the EOS 1D X Mark II’s new AF software and hardware is fundamentally better at tracking BIF against complex backgrounds.

Earlier this month I traveled to Southern California to shoot peregrine falcons. These raptors are the fastest members of the animal kingdom. They are often difficult to photograph as they nest on tall cliffs and fly very fast. Photographers have to acquire and lock focus on the falcon in just a split second before it disappears behind a cliff. This was a great opportunity for me to put the new camera through some serious testing. Furthermore, I had photographed in this location before with the EOS-1D X so I had a good idea of what the old camera was capable of under similar conditions.

The skies were overcast all the time. There was some fog in the mornings that made it an even more of a challenge situation for the AF system. I mainly used my EF 600mm f/4 IS II (bare and with extenders) for this shoot because I had previously used the same gear with the EOS-1D X. When shooting with the EOS-1DX Mark II, I immediately noticed an improvement in acquiring and holding focus on the falcon against varied rock, beach and wave backgrounds in very low contrast conditions. This was true even when the bird was filling only 15-20% of the frame.

What I noticed immediately was the consistency and the stability of the AI servo tracking. I have many sequences of 30+ in-flight frames that are all tack sharp. It almost feels too easy capturing the ideal frame with the EOS-1D X Mark II.

This image was created by Arash Hazeghi with the hand held Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens and the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II with 64GB Card and Reader. ISO 1000. 1/3200 sec. at f/4. artie note: Amazing pose, amazing sharpness, amazing background. In short, amazing. Image #5: Juvenile peregrine calling in flight. Courtesy of and copyright 2016: Arash Hazeghi See what the folks on BirdPhotographer’s.Net had to say about this image here.

The buffer depth with the EOS-1D X Mark II is virtually unlimited when shooting with a CFAST
2.0 card. I used a pair of 64GB SanDisk Extreme Pro CFAST 2.0 cards for this shoot. It’s amazing how fast the camera can empty the buffer with the CFAST card; I can barely see the card activity LED come on.

During the shoot, I noticed that when the CFAST card was almost full, or when I deleted a large number of files on the card after it was full (as opposed to formatting the card), the camera slowed down after a deep burst. Most likely this is because the CFAST card is moving data internally to make room for the new files that are being dumped by the camera. This operation can take seconds to complete and during this time the camera will not operate. Ideally, when this happens, the camera should immediately switch to the CF card and allow the user to continue shooting. I have contacted both SanDisk and Canon support regarding this issue; they are working on it and mentioned that a solution is likely soon. I will update this section when and if that comes to fruition. For now I recommend carrying plenty of CFAST cards so that you can insert a freshly formatted card as soon as a card is almost full. That done you can continue shooting at full speed.

I really wish that Canon had included two CFAST 2.0 slots instead of a CFAST slot and a CF card slot. Working with two media is cumbersome; you need to carry two kinds of card readers. And the slower write speed of the CF card is limited by the UDMA protocol. Memory card prices drop quickly thanks to FLASH technology scaling so I don’t see the justification for staying with an obsolete media, especially when a memory card is just a fraction of the total cost of an EOS-1D X Mark II camera body.

The sky was cloudy all day but that actually helped in the afternoon since the juveniles and parents were more active later in the day when the sun would have been too harsh without cloud cover. These conditions were quite challenging for the AF system, given the low contrast between the falcons and the backgrounds at this location—the ocean with waves and some colorful cliffs. Overall I had many more keepers compared to last time I shot flight at the same location with the EOS-1D X.

This image was created by Arash Hazeghi with the hand held Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II with 64GB Card and Reader. ISO 1250. 1/3200 sec. at f/5.6. artie note: These guys have been clocked at speeds in the 200mph range while stooping on prey… Image #6: Adult male Peregrine Falcon top shot Courtesy of and copyright 2016: Arash Hazeghi See what the folks on BirdPhotographer’s.Net had to say about this image here.

The peregrines have amazing control at high speed; I often saw them bank at very high speed–, that must be quite a few G’s!

Low light in the morning gave me good opportunities to test the real-world high ISO performance of the camera. The RAW files made at ISO 3200 are clean and sharp and don’t show much noise at all when converted with Canon DPP 4.4 using the recommended recipe in the new DPP 4.4 Guide.

I also tried the EOS-1DX Mark II at Bolsa Chica Wildlife Preserve in Huntington Beach, CA. I usually shoot at this location at least once a year so I have had the opportunity to try a variety of different lenses and camera bodies there. This location is ideal for photographing coastal birds including terns, skimmers, pelicans, herons, and shorebirds. On my last visit I mainly use my EF 400mm F/4 DO IS II. The light weight of this rig makes it possible to track terns when they dive for fish. I concentrated on the post dive “roll” frames that are more challenging but also more interesting. After the birds emerge from a dive, the terns shake the water off by rolling themselves really quickly in flight.

During the first evening at this location I had to deal with cloudy skies and low light again. Although the combination of the EOS-1D X and the EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II + 2X Extender III performs quite well for in-flight shots it wouldn’t be my first choice for shooting in low light if other options such as the 600mm f/4L IS II are available.

With the EOS-1DX Mark II however, my experience shooting with this combination in low light was a very positive one. In fact, for most part I could not tell that the 2X extender was attached. Note that with this combo the maximum aperture is reduced to f/8.

This image was created by Arash Hazeghi with the hand held Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 2X III, and the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II with 64GB Card and Reader. ISO 3200. 1/2500 sec. at f/8. artie note: Arash loves how well the 1DX II holds focus against backgrounds other than sky. If you think that that has 100% to do with the camera you are very mistaken… Image #7: Elegant Tern rolling after an unsuccessful dive. Courtesy of and copyright 2016: Arash Hazeghi See what the folks on BirdPhotographer’s.Net had to say about this image here.

With the EOS-1D X Mark II, it is almost too easy to nail the roll shots; in fact, I made many frames on this outing that depicted this behavior. To further verify my impressions, I switched bodies during the shoot,; the differences in AF were quite noticeable. Although I was very happy with the combination of the original EOS-1DX and the EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II + Extender 2X III, when compared to the EOS-1DX Mark II, the EOS-1DX hunted more and is AF is less sure when you are attempting to hold focus on a BIF for a period of more than 2-3 seconds against varied backgrounds.

Summary and Conclusions

When the original EOS-1D X came out in 2011, it was a significant upgrade in every dimension relative to the EOS-1D Mark IV it replaced. Thanks to the EOS-1D X’s superior image quality and the then completely new AF system, I was able to make certain types of action/BIF photographs with a level of detail and clarity not possible before. After using the EOS-1D X Mark II extensively in the field, I can report that it is a significant upgrade over the EOS- 1DX when it comes to capturing BIF and wildlife action shots; most of the improvement is in the AF system. The AI-servo tracking is a lot more sure or stable than before when dealing with complex backgrounds and fast birds. The camera doesn’t appear to slow down, even when tracking in low light; it always delivers the advertised 14 fps. The high ISO performance is just as great as the original EOS-1DX,. It is capable of producing large museum-quality prints at ISO up to 3200 with ease and in certain cases, up to ISO 6400. In combination with Canon’s DPP 4.4 for RAW conversion, the grain is tight and uniform and can be easily removed in post processing without affecting the fine details. For web presentation, ISOs as high as 10,000 are usable. The improvement in lower ISO shadow noise and dynamic range is welcome but should not be a significant deciding factor for BIF and action photographers.

One could argue that the EOS-1D X Mark II isn’t a significant upgrade relative to the EOS-1DX for photographer who don’t shoot action and birds in flight but then again, this is an action camera built around the concept of speed. I am sure it will be well received by the professional sports’ photography community as well.The combination of the new AF system, 14 fps and almost unlimited buffer depth (when used with a CFAST 2.0 card) makes the 1D X II a winner. In the hands of a skilled bird photographer, it significantly increases the keeper ratio for those creating action and in-flight images.

It would have been nice if Canon had increased the resolution to something in the 24- 26 mega-pixel range, but that would probably have reduced the frame rate. The EOS-1D X Mark II has an array of 4K video features as well that are not covered in this review. I wish the touch function wasn’t so limited and could be used for image review as well.

It is worth noting that for the first time, despite the added features, Canon has actually reduced the price of an EOS-1D class camera relative to its predecessor, at least here in the US. The original EOS-1DX retailed for $6900 back in 2011 without any additional accessories. The EOS-1DX Mark II retails for about $6000 with a 64GB SanDisk Extreme Pro CFAST2.0 card and reader (those with a retail value of about $300). So Canon have effectively lowered the price by ~20% even without considering inflation. So kudos to Canon, my verdict is hugely positive.

This image was created by Arash Hazeghi with the hand held Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens and the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II with 64GB Card and Reader. ISO 3200. 1/2000 sec. at f/4. artie note: You gotta love ISO 3200 that looks as smooth as ISO 400 with most other camera bodies… Image #8: Juvenile Peregrine Falcon with wings raised. Courtesy of and copyright 2016: Arash Hazeghi

Pros

-Best in class AF for BIF and action shots with any Canon series II super-telephoto lens/Extender combination.

-Full AF array available at f/8 with fast precise AF.

-Excellent high and low ISO image quality, dynamic range, and pixel-level sharpness.

-At the time of this review, EOS-1D X Mark II is the fastest DSLR on the market capable of shooting RAW at 14 fps (JPEG at 16fps).

-Virtually unlimited buffer depth when using a CFAST2.0 card.

-Higher capacity battery, GPS does not drain the battery.

-Cheaper than its predecessor (US).

-Rapid LV AF. Mirror now stays up during LV shooting, thus tripod operation can be completely silent (useful for some setup situations).

-Array of 4K video functions (for those who use it).

Cons

-CF plus CFAST2.o card slot as opposed to dual CFAST2.0 slots.

-Touch function very limited, almost useless for still photography.

-No back-lit buttons, these would make the body much easier to use in the dark.

-No built-in WiFi while many lower-end cameras readily include this feature. Optional WiFi module is pricy.

-The dual battery charger can only charge one battery at a time.

-The supplied CFAST2.0 card reader doesn’t support thunderbolt 2, it is stuck with slower USB 3.0.

(C) 2016 Arash Hazeghi, no reproduction allowed without written permission.

(Note: you can read the original, much more comprehensive version of Arash’s review with lots more images including photos of the two camera bodies along with several series of comparative images dealing with ISO, fine detail, and others by clicking here.)

If…

If anything you read here inspires you to purchase a 1DX Mark II (or any other new photography gear) please remember to use my B&H affiliate links. Thanks a stack.

Questions

If you have any questions I will be glad to

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And we are always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above we, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack!

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right 🙂

What’s Up?

Arrived at Nickerson at 5am. On the way home by 8. Nap. Swim. Chiropractor. Played catch with grandson Idris–he has improved so much in about a month that it is hard to believe. Watched some Olympics. Hit the sack early. JBWR on Wednesday morning… You already know how that went…

I fly home early on Friday morning.

The Streak

Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, irrational, illogical, preposterous, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, what’s wrong with this guy?, makes-no-sense, 280 days in a row with a new educational blog post. There should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major gear purchases. For best results use one of our many product-specific links; after clicking on one of those you can continue shopping with all subsequent purchases invisibly tracked to BAA. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated. Please remember: web orders only. And please remember also that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.

Selling Your Used Gear Through BIRDS AS ART

Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog or via a BAA Online Bulletin is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charges a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly–I offer free pricing advice, usually sells in no time flat. In the past few months, we have sold just about everything in sight. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 500mm, the EOS-7D, and the original 400mm IS DO lens have been dropping steadily. You can see all current listings by clicking here or by clicking on the Used Photo Gear tab on the yellow-orange tab on the right side of the menu bar above.

Used Gear Sales Continue to be Brisk

• Eric Karl sold his Canon 7D Mark II camera in like-new condition with the BG-E16 battery grip for $1,099 in mid-August.
• Tom Mast sold his Canon 300mm f/4L IS USM lens in excellent condition for $625 in late July.
• Henry Raymundo sold his Gitzo 1325 tripod and a Wimberley V-2 head both in very good plus condition for the very low price of $699 and two used Canon 100-400mm IS L Zoom lenses, one in excellent condition for $599, the other in very good plus condition for $549–all in late July.
• Jonathan Ward sold his Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS II USM lens in excellent condition for $2,000 CAD in early July.
• Long ago multiple IPT veteran Charles McRae sold his Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS lens in good to very good condition in early July for a record low $4,199.
• Jeffrey Fredberg sold his EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM L series lens in like-new condition for the record-low BAA price of $749 in late June.
• Jim Burns sold his Canon 200-400mm F/4L IS zoom lens with Internal 1.4X Extender in brand new condition for the insane BAA record-low price of $8499 in late June.

New Listings

Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS Lens

Annthy Nguyen is offering a Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS lens (the original version) in excellent plus condition for $2,950.00. The sale includes the original lens trunk (with 2 keys), the front cover, the rear lens cap, the original product box, and insured ground shipping via major courier to US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Ann via e-mail or by phone at 1-714-386-8083 (Pacific time zone)

The older version of the Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS is a super sharp lens that is great for hand held flight and action photography and great with both teleconverters. It has long been the favorite focal length of the world’s best hawk photographers. artie

This image was created at Nickerson Beach on Tuesday morning, August 16, 2016. I used the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and the mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops as framed: 1/500 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode was about 1/ stop underexposed. Shade WB. One AF point above and two to the right of the center AF point/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure. (This is a small crop all around.) The active AF point fell on the bird’s neck right below the eye. spot where the wing attaches to the bird’s body, right on the same plane as the eye. Click on the image to see a larger version. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: +2. Black Skimmer–fledged young on beach

Drawing to a Close Times Two…

The nesting season at Nickerson is drawing to a close, as is my five-week Long Island visit.

Nickerson seemed a bit forlorn at 5:45am this morning. There was not a single skimmer behind the colony ropes. Nearly all of the young of the year are fledged and were hanging out on the beach with the adults in about five widely spread out groups. The powers that be at Nickerson put up one decent sign at the end of the blue walkway from the parking lot, explaining that disturbing the birds on the beach might lead to the death of young skimmers. But on the beaches, there were more than half a dozen “Danger Stay Back 150 feet” signs. The problem was that those signs were two-sided and both sides said the same thing. The only sane explanation would be that there was a bomb planted beneath the sign… I would think that the end result is that the regular folks, that is, the beach-goers, would not think that any of the signs were serious.

There was only one other photographer at the beach; she was sitting in a chair a good ways from the largest group of adults and fledged young. I four-wheeler drove right past her to empty a huge garbage. When they dumped it, all of the adult took flight leaving the young exposed to predation by Great Black-backed Gulls. Just as the sign that made sense explained. Wouldn’t it be nice if the teen-aged garbage men underwent a bit of skimmer conservation education?

I took a long walk with just the 100-400 and the 1DX II in search of a really big flock of Sanderlings. I found a few thousand birds and created a few decent blurs but for the most part the birds never coalesced into a large swirling flock. I walk back east and noted lots of young skimmers on the clean wet sand as the tide started to fall. Though there was a west/southwest wind there was a single large cloud blocking the sun so I hiked back to the car, loaded the 600 and the tripod onto the Wheeleeze, and trekked back to the birds. All of which had been driven back up onto the beach by the early morning health walkers. I made a few images including the one above, not on clean wet sand, and then headed home before 8am.

Fort DeSoto in fall is rife with tame birds. All of the images in this card were created at Fort DeSoto in either late September or early October. I hope that you can join me there this fall one way or another. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

BIRDS AS ART Fort DeSoto In-the-Field Meet-up Workshop (ITFW): $99. Limit 12/Openings: 10)

Join me on the morning of October 2, 2016 for 3-hours of photographic instruction at Fort DeSoto Park. Beginners are welcome. Lenses of 300mm or longer are recommended but even those with 70-200s should get to make some nice images, especially with a 7D Mark II. Teleconverters are always a plus.

You will learn the basics of digital exposure and image design, autofocus basics, and how to get close to free and wild birds. We should get to photograph a variety of wading birds, shorebirds, terns, and gulls. This inexpensive morning workshop is designed to give folks a taste of the level and the quality of instruction that is provided on BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-tours. I hope to meet you there.

To register please call Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours with a credit card in hand to pay the nominal registration fee. Your registration fee is non-refundable. You will receive a short e-mail with instructions, gear advice, and meeting place one week before the event.

Folks attending the IPT will be in the field early and stay out late to take advantage of sunrise and sunset colors. The good news is that the days are relatively short in early fall. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

Fort DeSoto Short Notice Fall IPT/September 28 (meet & greet at 2pm followed by our afternoon session) through the full day on October 1, 2016. 3 1/2 DAYs: $1549. Limit 10/Openings: 7. Sunday morning ITFW free to IPT registrants.

Fort DeSoto, located just south of St. Petersburg, FL, is a mecca for migrant shorebirds in fall. There they join dozens of egrets, herons, night-herons, gulls, and terns who winter on the T-shaped peninsula that serves as their wintering grounds. With any luck, we should get to photograph two of Florida’s most desirable shorebird species: Marbled Godwit and the spectacular Long-billed Curlew. Black-bellied Plover and Willet are easy, American Oystercatcher likely. Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, and Tricolored Heron are easy as well and we will almost surely come up with a tame Yellow-crowned Night-Heron or two. We should get to do some Brown Pelican flight photography. And Royal, Sandwich, Forster’s, and Caspian Terns will likely provide us with some good flight opportunities as well. Though not guaranteed, Roseate Spoonbill and Wood Stork would not be unexpected.

Folks who sign up for the IPT are welcome to join me as my guest on the ITFW on the Sunday morning following the workshop. See above for details on that.

On this and all other IPTs you will learn basics and fine points of digital exposure and to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure, how to approach free and wild birds without disturbing them, to understand and predict bird behavior, to identify and age many species of shorebirds, to spot the good situations, to choose the best perspective, to see and understand the light, to, and to design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system. And you will learn learn how and why to work in Manual mode (even if you’re scared of it).

At brunch (included) we will review my images–folks learn a ton watching me edit–why keep this one and delete that one? If you opt to bring your laptop, we can take a look at a few of your images from the morning session. We will process a few of my images in Photoshop after converting them in DPP. That followed by Instructor Nap Time.

As I already have one signed up for this workshop, it is a go. Hotel info will be e-mailed when you register. The best airport is Tampa (TPA). It is always best if IPT folks stay in the same hotel so if you are interested it would be a good idea to register now and make your hotel reservations as soon as you hear from us. We can, however, coordinate with local folks who opt to stay at home.

Because of the relatively late date, payment is full is due upon registration either by check or credit card. If the former, please e-mail us immediately so that we can save you a spot. If the latter, please call Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand to register. Your registration fee is non-refundable unless the IPT sells out with eight so please check your plans carefully before committing. You will receive a confirmation e-mail with detailed instructions and gear & clothing advice a fairly soon.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And we are always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above we, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack!

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right 🙂

What’s Up?

I wrote this post on Monday afternoon after getting my most recent trigger finger (left ring ) injected. I screamed a bit, moaned and groaned a lot, and concentrated on my breath to lessen the impact of the pain. When Dr. Poupolo took the needle out, I said, “That wasn’t too bad.” And I meant it. The young doctor assisting him said, “You could have fooled me.” Dr. Poupolo said, “For him, that was a very subdued reaction; he usually screams bloody murder.” And he meant that too.

My plan at present is to get out on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings to photograph. I fly home early on Friday morning.

The Streak

Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, irrational, illogical, preposterous, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, what’s wrong with this guy?, makes-no-sense, 279 days in a row with a new educational blog post. There should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major gear purchases. For best results use one of our many product-specific links; after clicking on one of those you can continue shopping with all subsequent purchases invisibly tracked to BAA. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated. Please remember: web orders only. And please remember also that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.

This image was created at Fort DeSoto with the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III (at 560mm) and rugged, blazingly fast Canon EOS-1D X Mark II with 64GB Card and Reader. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2/1 stop: 1/400 sec. at f/13. Daylight WB. Center AF point/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding). The selected AF point fell on the dark spot just right of center. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Backlit Sea Grape leaf

What Catches Your Eye?

Private client Joel Eade and I were walking along the beach to check out a few birds we had seen. They flew when a beach-goer stood and vigorously shook the sand off his blanket. You gotta love it. Looking away from the Gulf, I showed Joel two dead Sea Grape leaves that had caught my eye. They were orange and yellow and red and backlit and stood right out among a sea of browns and greens. I showed him that if we bent down, one of us at a time as it was very tight with bushes and branches, we could get a relatively distant, relatively dark, and relatively clean background. I went with the 1.4TC for extra reach and was almost able to fill the frame with color. It would have been impossible to get a tripod into position as getting the lens exactly where I wanted it with the back of the camera parallel to the leaf was enough of a challenge when hand holding. We took turns and both of use wound up creating a variety of both horizontal and vertical images. This image, a small crop all around, was my favorite.

More Depth-of-Field Lessons

Notice that even at f/13, the part of the leaf that curls away from the plane of leaf that is in sharp focus has fallen totally out of focus. Why? D-o-F at or close to the minimum focusing distance of any telephoto lens is next to nothing, measured in mere fractions of an inch, even at small apertures.

Like it or hate it?

Do you like today’s image, do you consider it waste of pixels, or are you ambivalent about it? However you feel, let us know why.

Fort DeSoto in fall is rife with tame birds. All of the images in this card were created at Fort DeSoto in either late September or early October. I hope that you can join me there this fall one way or another. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

BIRDS AS ART Fort DeSoto In-the-Field Meet-up Workshop (ITFW): $99

Join me on the morning of October 2, 2016 for 3-hours of photographic instruction at Fort DeSoto Park. Beginners are welcome. Lenses of 300mm or longer are recommended but even those with 70-200s should get to make some nice images. Teleconverters are always a plus.

You will learn the basics of digital exposure and image design, autofocus basics, and how to get close to free and wild birds. We should get to photograph a variety of wading birds, shorebirds, terns, and gulls. This inexpensive morning workshop is designed to give folks a taste of the level and the quality of instruction that is provided on BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-tours. I hope to meet you there.

To register please call Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours with a credit card in hand to pay the nominal registration fee. Your registration fee is non-refundable. You will receive a short e-mail with instructions, gear advice, and meeting place one week before the event.

Folks attending the IPT will be in the field early and stay out late to take advantage of sunrise and sunset colors. The good news is that the days are relatively short in early fall. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

Fort DeSoto Short Notice Fall IPT/September 28 (meet & greet at 2pm followed by our afternoon session) through the full day on October 1, 2016. 3 1/2 DAYs: $1549. Limit 10/Openings: 7. Sunday morning ITFW free to IPT registrants.

Fort DeSoto, located just south of St. Petersburg, FL, is a mecca for migrant shorebirds in fall. There they join dozens of egrets, herons, night-herons, gulls, and terns who winter on the T-shaped peninsula that serves as their wintering grounds. With any luck, we should get to photograph two of Florida’s most desirable shorebird species: Marbled Godwit and the spectacular Long-billed Curlew. Black-bellied Plover and Willet are easy, American Oystercatcher likely. Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, and Tricolored Heron are easy as well and we will almost surely come up with a tame Yellow-crowned Night-Heron or two. We should get to do some Brown Pelican flight photography. And Royal, Sandwich, Forster’s, and Caspian Terns will likely provide us with some good flight opportunities as well. Though not guaranteed, Roseate Spoonbill and Wood Stork would not be unexpected.

Folks who sign up for the IPT are welcome to join me as my guest on the ITFW on the Sunday morning following the workshop. See above for details on that.

On this and all other IPTs you will learn basics and fine points of digital exposure and to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure, how to approach free and wild birds without disturbing them, to understand and predict bird behavior, to identify and age many species of shorebirds, to spot the good situations, to choose the best perspective, to see and understand the light, to, and to design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system. And you will learn learn how and why to work in Manual mode (even if you’re scared of it).

At brunch (included) we will review my images–folks learn a ton watching me edit–why keep this one and delete that one? If you opt to bring your laptop, we can take a look at a few of your images from the morning session. We will process a few of my images in Photoshop after converting them in DPP. That followed by Instructor Nap Time.

As I already have one signed up for this workshop, it is a go. Hotel info will be e-mailed when you register. The best airport is Tampa (TPA). It is always best if IPT folks stay in the same hotel so if you are interested it would be a good idea to register now and make your hotel reservations as soon as you hear from us. We can, however, coordinate with local folks who opt to stay at home.

Because of the relatively late date, payment is full is due upon registration either by check or credit card. If the former, please e-mail us immediately so that we can save you a spot. If the latter, please call Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand to register. Your registration fee is non-refundable unless the IPT sells out with eight so please check your plans carefully before committing. You will receive a confirmation e-mail with detailed instructions and gear & clothing advice a fairly soon.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And we are always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above we, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack!

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right 🙂

What’s Up?

I swam my slow 3/4 mile on Sunday morning at 11am and then headed into the city to see Jersey Boys on Broadway for the third time in 8 months and the second time in 8 days. I will share the whole story tomorrow…

The Streak

Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, irrational, illogical, preposterous, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, what’s wrong with this guy?, makes-no-sense, 277 days in a row with a new educational blog post. There should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major gear purchases. For best results use one of our many product-specific links; after clicking on one of those you can continue shopping with all subsequent purchases invisibly tracked to BAA. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated. Please remember: web orders only. AND Please remember also that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.

This image was created at Fort DeSoto with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens and the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II with 64GB Card and Reader. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops: 1/160 sec. at f9 in Av mode. WB: K8000. (I have no idea why I was at f/9; should have been at least f/5.6 for a faster shutter speed to better freeze the feeding shorebird…) Center AF point/AI Servo Surround/Rear Focus AF and re-compose. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #1: Short-billed Dowitcher feeding at sunrise

An Important Vertical Image Design Principle

With a long, tall subject in a vertical frame it is generally fine to center the subject, usually with a bit more room above the subject than below. With small subjects in vertical frames it is vitally important to place the subject in a corner of the frame; dead-centering a small-in-the-frame subject when working in vertical format is generally an image killer. These types of images generally work best if there is some nice habitat or gorgeous color to finish off the motif. (The late, great German nature photographer Fritz Poilking loved to use that word for “composition” or “image design.”

An Image Question

If this image were yours, would you eliminate the four small red areas in the reflection of the silhouette and the single red blip on the bird’s lower back? Why or why not? Remember, the more folks participate the more everyone learns, including me.

Image #2: this is a 2X3 cropped version of the image above

Tight or Wide?

Which image do you like better, #1 or #2? Whichever one is your favorite, please be sure to let us know why. And don’t be lazy: by keeping the blog interactive everybody learns more–including me…

Fort DeSoto in fall is rife with tame birds. All of the images in this card were created at Fort DeSoto in either late September or early October. I hope that you can join me there this fall one way or another. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

BIRDS AS ART Fort DeSoto In-the-Field Meet-up Workshop (ITFW): $99

Join me on the morning of October 2, 2016 for 3-hours of photographic instruction at Fort DeSoto Park. Beginners are welcome. Lenses of 300mm or longer are recommended but even those with 70-200s should get to make some nice images. Teleconverters are always a plus.

You will learn the basics of digital exposure and image design, autofocus basics, and how to get close to free and wild birds. We should get to photograph a variety of wading birds, shorebirds, terns, and gulls. This inexpensive morning workshop is designed to give folks a taste of the level and the quality of instruction that is provided on BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-tours. I hope to meet you there.

To register please call Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours with a credit card in hand to pay the nominal registration fee. Your registration fee is non-refundable. You will receive a short e-mail with instructions, gear advice, and meeting place one week before the event.

Folks attending the IPT will be in the field early and stay out late to take advantage of sunrise and sunset colors. The good news is that the days are relatively short in early fall. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

Fort DeSoto Short Notice Fall IPT/September 28 (meet & greet and afternoon session) through the full day on October 1, 2016. 3 1/2 DAYs: $1549. Limit 10/Openings: 8. Sunday morning ITFW free to IPT registrants.

Fort DeSoto, located just south of St. Petersburg, FL, is a mecca for migrant shorebirds in fall. There they join dozens of egrets, herons, night-herons, gulls, and terns who winter on the T-shaped peninsula that serves as their wintering grounds. With any luck, we should get to photograph two of Florida’s most desirable shorebird species: Marbled Godwit and the spectacular Long-billed Curlew. Black-bellied Plover and Willet are easy, American Oystercatcher likely. Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, and Tricolored Heron are easy as well and we will almost surely come up with a tame Yellow-crowned Night-Heron or two. We should get to do some Brown Pelican flight photography. And Royal, Sandwich, Forster’s, and Caspian Terns will likely provide us with some good flight opportunities as well. Though not guaranteed, Roseate Spoonbill and Wood Stork would not be unexpected.

Folks who sign up for the IPT are welcome to join me as my guest on the ITFW on the Sunday morning following the workshop. See above for details on that.

On this and all other IPTs you will learn basics and fine points of digital exposure and to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure, how to approach free and wild birds without disturbing them, to understand and predict bird behavior, to identify and age many species of shorebirds, to spot the good situations, to choose the best perspective, to see and understand the light, to, and to design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system. And you will learn learn how and why to work in Manual mode (even if you’re scared of it).

At brunch (included) we will review my images–folks learn a ton watching me edit–why keep this one and delete that one. If you opt to bring your laptop, we can take a look at a few of your images from the morning session. We will process a few of my images in Photoshop after converting them in DPP. That followed by Instructor Nap Time.

As I already have one signed up for this workshop, it is a go. Hotel info will be e-mailed when you register. The best airport is Tampa (TPA). It is always best if IPT folks stay in the same hotel so if you are interested it would be a good idea to register now and make your hotel reservations as soon as you hear from us. We can, however, coordinate with local folks who opt to stay at home.

Because of the relatively late date, payment is full is due upon registration either by check or credit card. If the former, please e-mail us immediately so that we can save you a spot. If the latter, please call Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand to register. Your registration fee is non-refundable unless the IPT sells out with eight so please check your plans carefully before committing. You will receive a confirmation e-mail with detailed instructions and gear & clothing advice a fairly soon.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And we are always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above we, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack!

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right 🙂

What’s Up?

No shock: even though I was glad to get the prep-work and the Event Space programs completed successfully, I still had tons to do on Friday. Putting the two programs together in Keynote–thanks again to Bug Bob Allen for his help there–took well more than 20 hours… The price of exposure. As things stand, I am miles behind on e-mails including lots of important Used Gear stuff. I hope to do some catching up on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

The Streak

Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, irrational, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, what’s wrong with this guy?, makes-no-sense, 275 days in a row with a new educational blog post. And I still have dozens of new topics to cover; there should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major gear purchases. For best results use one of our many product-specific links; after clicking on one of those you can continue shopping with all subsequent purchases invisibly tracked to BAA. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated. Please remember: web orders only. AND Please remember also that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.

“Port In The Storm” Costa’s Hummingbird (Scratchboard and Ink) Courtesy of and copyright Cathy Sheeter

The Amazing Scratchboard Fine Art of Cathy Sheeter

I met Cathy when she joined me for a morning at Nickerson Beach about two weeks ago along with her friend, IPT veteran Andrae Kipin Acerra. During our brunch and image review session Cathy shared some of her work with me on her phone. I was totally floored. Many thanks to Cathy for allowing me to share just a few of my favorites of her work here. You can see lots more on Cathy’s website here.

Note: Cathy uses her photographs as reference material for her amazing artwork.

“The Naturalist” Gray Wolf (Scratchboard and Ink) Courtesy of and copyright Cathy Sheeter

About Scratchboard Art

from Cathy’s website

Scratchboard art is a form of direct engraving. The panel starts out solid black and then the artist scratches to expose a layer of white clay under black ink. The working surface is a three layer medium made up of a 1/8″ masonite panel as a support (for ampersand scratchbord, which is what Cathy works on; the support may be different in other brands). The support is covered with smooth white clay followed by a thin layer of black India ink, leaving a solid black panel to start with. The artist then uses various tools to scratch through the black ink and reveal the white clay below. Every line, dot and dimple is created by hand all with lines and dots and variation in tone and value are based on how many lines are scratched in a particular area or how much of the white clay that your eye sees. Colored inks can be added to the exposed white areas of the work if desired or the board can be left black and white. Large and complex pieces can take hundreds of hours to be completed due to the many layers of tiny scratches that cover the board.

Is Scratchboard Archival?

The black ink used to create ampersand scratchboard (the type of board I work on) is carbon based and as a result of the natural properties of carbon, it is very resistant to fading from natural sunlight. For additional protection once a piece is completed it is also coated with a UV-resistant spray that adds extra protection to the work and prevents it from being easily damaged. Cathy work is also typically framed behind museum glass (except if shipped to shows where it may be behind plexi-glass for safer transport), which filters out 99% of harmful UV rays. If treated with care, you can feel comfortable that any scratchboard artwork that you purchase created by Cathy is created with top of the line materials. You can buy with confidence that you will be able to pass on Cathy’s artwork to the next generations and it will look as good in the future as it did the day you bought it!

“Shirley the Baby Squirrel” (Scratchboard and Ink) Courtesy of and copyright Cathy Sheeter

Why have I not heard about Scratchboard Art before?

While scratchboard has been around for many years it has never been highly popular. It is considered by many artists to be one of the most difficult of all mediums, as you can not take an eraser and fix a mistake. It can also be a very time consuming medium, as every line is done by hand and larger works can take hundreds of hours to be completed.

What tools are used for creating scratchboard art?

Scratchboard artists use a wide variety of tools to create different textures in the artwork. The primary tool is usually a standard craft knife or scalpel for line work and can be as varied as using sandpaper, steel wool and fiberglass brushes for various other effects. Most artists spend many hours on their work as all textures are created using only scratches! For a more in depth discussion on the tools I use please check out my article on scratchboard tools.

How do you color scratchboard art?

Scratchboard can be left as a dramatic black and white image but it can also be colored after scratching. Because the white layer is clay based and absorbent it will accept color mediums such as colored transparent inks, fluid acrylics and watercolor. Colors can be applied so that they look anywhere from subtle to vibrant. Cathy uses transparent inks to add color to her work. Once a layer of color is applied the artist can go back and re-scratch those areas to build up layers, but once color is applied they can never go back to just black and white. Coloring boards typically takes Cathy about 1 1/2 times as long as leaving a board black and white, so you may notice a slightly higher price on colored works.

“Spin Cycle” Grizzly Bear (Scratchboard and Ink) Courtesy of and copyright Cathy Sheeter

A Brief Career Summary

Cathy Sheeter is quickly becoming known as one of the premier wildlife and western scratchboard artists of today. Her mastery of the difficult scratchboard medium is evident in the outstanding quality of each of her works. Highly detailed and realistic, her scratchboard art is often mistaken for photographs at a distance. Cathy has only been exhibiting her work since 2008 but her rapid accent into highly respected wildlife and western art exhibitions and ever increasing number of awards and publications is making her work increasingly collectable worldwide. Cathy’s work is instantly recognizable due to its life-like eyes, anatomical accuracy, strong compositions, and sense of light which help bring the viewer into the world of her animal artwork creations.

“Cross My Path” Domestic Short Hair (Scratchboard and Ink) Courtesy of and copyright Cathy Sheeter

More About Cathy Sheeter

Cathy was born in 1979 and grew up in a very remote town in Eastern Oregon, where she was immersed in a community with small town values, rich in ranching, agriculture and open spaces. Her love for the natural world was encouraged by her family and she owned (and showed) countless animals throughout childhood. Animals and the western lifestyle continue to be central components of her life and the focus of much of her art. Cathy was fortunate to have a family that encouraged her artistic interests and talents from early childhood. She took art classes through high school and was first introduced to the medium of scratchboard in those classes. While Cathy chose to major in animal sciences in college, she never stopped creating art in her free time. In 2002 Cathy moved to Colorado, where she still resides.

Cathy’s primary choice of mediums is the non-traditional scratchboard. Scratchboard is a form of direct engraving where the artist starts with a masonite panel that is coated with white clay and then topped with a thin layer of black ink. A sharp pointed tool is then used to scratch away the black ink and expose the white clay below (leaving a black and white image). The image can then be colored with inks if desired. Scratchboard is regarded by many artists as one of the most difficult mediums to master as it requires excellent drawing skills and attention to fine details. The medium does not allow for many mistakes and the artist must be able to convey many different textures all with just lines or dots. Large and complex pieces can take hundreds of hours to complete. Cathy also enjoys working in graphite pencil, oil paints, color pencil, and pastels from time to time..
Cathy is a founding member and one of the first juried in ‘Master Members’ (MSA) of the International Society of Scratchboard Artists (founded 2011). She continues to promote and push scratchboard into top wildlife and western art shows nation wide. She has been invited to exhibit her work in many prestigious museums throughout the US as well.

Cathy first started exhibiting her work and entering national juried shows in 2008. That same year Cathy also applied to the prestigious Society of Animal Artists for membership and was delighted to be selected as a signature member (top membership ranking) on her first try. Continuing her journey into the professional art world her list of awards continues to grow each year, as does her list of top tier exhibitions that she is invited to participate in. Her work can be found in private and corporate collections throughout the US and Canada.

Cathy’s professional associations include: Master Member (and one of the founders) of the International Society of Scratchboard Artists (ISSA), Signature Member of the Society of Animal Artists (SAA), and Associate Member of the Women Artists of the West (WAOW).

Springer Spaniel (Scratchboard) Courtesy of and copyright Cathy Sheeter

Comments Welcome

I’d love to hear you thoughts about Cathy’s work. Which of today’s featured fine art pieces is your favorite? Be sure to let us know why.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And we are always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above we, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack!

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right 🙂

What’s Up?

I have been doing my easy 3/4 mile swim most every day. On Wednesday I put the finishing touches on my two B&H Event Space programs. My understanding is that they will both be available online at some point. I hope to see many of you there. If you are unable to register but will be in the neighborhood it often pays to visit as there are often more than a few no-shows… See the details below.

The Streak

Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, irrational, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, what’s wrong with this guy?, makes-no-sense, 273 days in a row with a new educational blog post. And I still have dozens of new topics to cover; there should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major gear purchases. For best results use one of our many product-specific links; after clicking on one of those you can continue shopping with all subsequent purchases invisibly tracked to BAA. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated. Please remember: web orders only. AND Please remember also that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.

This in-camera HDR (Auto dynamic range) Art Vivid image was created on the first 2015 Palouse IPT with the Induro GIT 304L/Induro BH M-1 Ballhead-mounted Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens (at 24mm) and the mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 400. Evaluative metering at zero around a base exposure of 1.3 sec. at f/7.1. WB 5500 K. Live view with 2-second timer. Live View Rear Focus AF half way up the roof. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Round barn roof–interior ceiling view

The Discovery…

I had photographed at this round barn location several times. Though there are numerous interesting subjects inside the barn, I continued to look for new subjects, for new perspectives. I wandered round and round and somehow wound up in the center of the barn and–I am not sure exactly why–looked up. Oh my God! It looked like some sort of golden cathedral ceiling on the prairie. I shared my new treasure with the group and we took turns–two at a time actually–lying flat on our backs beneath our tripods working the scene. And then a few days later I shared my find with the second group.

Using Live View was a big help with the framing as it would have been nearly impossible to get one’s eye to the viewfinder…

B&H August 11, 2016 Event Space Programs

On Thursday, August 11, 2016, I will be presenting two free programs at the B&H Event Space as below. If you would like to attend, it would be best to register asap as both programs have begun filling nicely.

Using Teleconverters with Intermediate and Super Telephotos Lenses: 1:00 to 2:30pm

The word on the street is that you simply cannot make sharp images with teleconverters (TCs) especially with the doublers. Nothing could be further from the truth. With some practice and good sharpness techniques you can learn to use TCs effectively to photograph small, distant, or shy subjects.

Teleconverters or multipliers come in a variety of strengths, most usually 1.4X and 2X. Nikon also offers a 1.7X TCE. Each will multiply your effective focal length by the factor in its name. A 1.4X TC will make your 400mm lens into a 560mm lens. A doubler, aka a 2X TC, will enable your 600mm lens to give you 1200mm of reach.

In this program, Arthur Morris, internationally noted bird photographer and educator, will share the tips, techniques, and secrets that he has developed and used for more than three decades so that you too can use teleconverters to improve your photography. This program will be illustrated with Artie’s spectacular images of birds, wildlife, flowers, and even a few unexpected subjects.

Learn more or register here.

Putting Art into Your Nature Photography: 3:00 to 4:30pm

With today’s amazing photographic gear that includes camera bodies with surreal autofocus that can routinely produce superb image files in the right hands and fast, sharp lenses (including and especially the amazing super-telephotos) creating images of various birds, animals, flowers, and landscapes, is pretty much child’s play. Anyone can do it. In this program, Arthur Morris, internationally noted bird photographer and educator, will teach you to take your images to the next level. You will learn to identify good situations, to create pleasing backgrounds, to photograph action and behavior, to choose the best perspective, to read and use the light, when and how to create pleasing blurs, and how to consistently create dramatic, evocative images with contest-winning potential.

This program will be illustrated with several hundred of Artie’s spectacular images, many published around the world above his most fitting credit line: BIRDS AS ART.

Learn more or register here.

Palouse 2016 Horizontals Card

Why Different?

Announcing the 2017 BIRDS AS ART Palouse Instructional Photo-Tour

In what ways will the 2017 BIRDS AS ART Palouse Instructional Photo-Tour be different from the most other Palouse workshops?

There are so many great locations that a seven-day IPT (as opposed to the typical three- or five-day workshops) will give the group time to visit (and revisit) many of the best spots while allowing you to maximize your air travel dollars. In addition, it will allow us to enjoy a slightly more relaxed pace.

You will be assured of being in the right location for the given weather and sky conditions.

You will learn and hone both basic and advanced compositional and image design skills.

You will learn to design powerful, graphic images.

You will visit all of the iconic locations and a few spectacular ones that are much less frequently visited.

You will learn long lens landscape techniques.

You will learn to master any exposure situation in one minute or less.

You will learn the fine points of Canon in-camera (5D Mark III, 5DS R, and 7D II) HDR techniques.

You will be able to share a variety of my exotic Canon lenses including the Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM lens and the Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM lens, aka the “circle lens.”

You will learn to use your longest focal lengths to create rolling field and Urbex abstracts.

You will learn when and how to use a variety of neutral density filters to create pleasing blurs of the Palouse’s gorgeous rolling farmlands.

As always, you will learn to see like a pro. You will learn what makes one situation prime and another seemingly similar one a waste of your time. You will learn to see the situation and to create a variety of top-notch images.

You will learn to use super-wide lenses both for big skies and building interiors.

You will learn when, why, and how to use infrared capture; if you do not own an infrared body, you will get to borrow mine.

You will learn to use both backlight and side-light to create powerful and dramatic landscape images.

This trip will run with one participant.

Palouse 2016 Verticals Card

The 2017 BIRDS AS ART Palouse Instructional Photo-Tour
June 8-14, 2017. Seven full days of photography. Meet and greet at 7:30pm on Wednesday, June 7: $2,499. Limit 10/Openings: 9.

Rolling farmlands provide a magical patchwork of textures and colors, especially when viewed from the top of Steptoe Butte where we will enjoy spectacular sunrises and at least one nice sunset. We will photograph grand landscapes and mini-scenics of the rolling hills and farm fields. I will bring you to more than a few really neat old abandoned barns and farmhouses in idyllic settings. There is no better way to improve your compositional and image design skills and to develop your creativity than to join me for this trip. Photoshop and image sharing sessions when we have the time and energy…. We get up early and stay out late and the days are long.

Over the past three years, with the help of a friend, we found all the iconic locations and, in addition, lots of spectacular new old barns and breath-taking landforms and vistas. What’s included: In-the-field instruction, guidance, lessons, and inspiration, my extensive knowledge of the area, all lunches, motel lobby grab and go breakfasts, and Photoshop and image sharing sessions. As above, there will be a meet and greet at 7:30pm on the evening before the workshop begins.

To Sign Up

Your non-refundable deposit of $500 is required to hold your spot. Please let me know via e-mail that you will be joining this IPT. Then you can either call Jim or Jennifer at 863-692-0906 during business hours to arrange for the payment of your deposit; if by check, please make out to “BIRDS AS ART” and mail it to: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail: artie.

Travel Insurance Services offers a variety of plans and options. Included with the Elite Option or available as an upgrade to the Basic & Plus Options. You can also purchase Cancel for Any Reason Coverage that expands the list of reasons for your canceling to include things such as sudden work or family obligation and even a simple change of mind. You can learn more here: Travel Insurance Services. Do note that many plans require that you purchase your travel insurance within 14 days of our cashing your deposit check. Whenever purchasing travel insurance be sure to read the fine print carefully even when dealing with reputable firms like TSI.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And we are always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above we, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack!

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right 🙂

What’s Up?

On Sunday morning I took grandson Idris to Robert Moses State Park to enjoy the waves. In my early teens I practically lived in the ocean all summer long; the bigger the waves, the better for body surfing. The beach at Moses was very steep but with the north breeze knocking the waves down, they looked pretty benign. Appearances can be deceiving.

Idris’s throwing and catching skills have improved by leaps and bounds since we began tossing a ball around in daughter Lissy’s backyard most every night. So, after we played catch with a tennis ball for a while, Idris and grandpa headed for the water. I tried getting him to join me about 20 feet from shore but he was too smart, getting wet only from his ankles to his thighs.

I was busy watching him on shore when I was slammed by an 8 foot wave that came out of nowhere and smashed me in the back. I was turned upside down and apparently inside out by that first wave. My swim goggles–don’t ask me why I was wearing them–were ripped off my head. The next two waves in the set were not as big as the first one but still they beat me up pretty good. It was like being inside a gigantic washing machine. At one point I began to think that I actually might be in a more than a bit of trouble…

When the dust cleared I had about a pound of sand in each bathing suit pocket and another half pound in the tiny key pocket of my sun protection blouse. I escaped pretty much unscathed but realized in retrospect that I was very lucky not to have damaged my left knee when I first went flying. We searched in vain for a few minutes for my missing swim mask and then beat a hasty retreat to my Mom’s community pool. We did stop at Target to grab a pair of swim goggles for each of us. Idris loves the water and swam more than 22 lengths, a solid 1/4 mile. Not bad for an 8-year old. I did my usual 66 lengths, 3/4 mile. Very slowly.

Defeat continued to plague me on Sunday evening as I lost to my Mom in Scrabble by an ignominious 99 points. 🙁

The Streak

Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, irrational, illogical, preposterous, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, what’s wrong with this guy?, makes-no-sense, 271 days in a row with a new educational blog post. And I still have dozens of new topics to cover; there should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major gear purchases. For best results use one of our many product-specific links; after clicking on one of those you can continue shopping with all subsequent purchases invisibly tracked to BAA. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated. Please remember: web orders only. AND Please remember also that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.

Selling Your Used Gear Through BIRDS AS ART

Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog or via a BAA Online Bulletin is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charges a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly–I offer free pricing advice, usually sells in no time flat. In the past few months, we have sold just about everything in sight. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 500mm, the EOS-7D, and the original 400mm IS DO lens have been dropping steadily. You can see all current listings by clicking here or by clicking on the Used Photo Gear tab on the yellow-orange tab on the right side of the menu bar above.

Used Gear Sales Continue to be Brisk

• Tom Mast sold his Canon 300mm f/4L IS USM lens in excellent condition for $625 in late July.
• Henry Raymundo sold his Gitzo 1325 tripod and a Wimberley V-2 head both in very good plus condition for the very low price of $699 and two used Canon 100-400mm IS L Zoom lenses, one in excellent condition for $599, the other in very good plus condition for $549–all in late July.
• Jonathan Ward sold his Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS II USM lens in excellent condition for $2,000 CAD in early July.
• Long ago multiple IPT veteran Charles McRae sold his Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS lens in good to very good condition in early July for a record low $4,199.
• Jeffrey Fredberg sold his EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM L series lens in like-new condition for the record-low BAA price of $749 in late June.
• Jim Burns sold his Canon 200-400mm F/4L IS zoom lens with Internal 1.4X Extender in brand new condition for the insane BAA record-low price of $8499 in late June.
• Moody McCall sold his Canon 300mm F/2.8L IS II in excellent condition for $4199 in mid-June.
• Long-ago IPT veteran Charles Sleicher sold his Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM lens in very good plus condition for $3400 in mid-June.
• Top BAA Used Gear seller Jim Keener sold his Canon EOS 5D Mark III in absolute mint condition for $1599 in mid-June.
• KW McCulloch sold his Canon EOS-1D X in excellent condition for $2459 in mid-June.
• Top BAA Used Gear seller Jim Keener sold his Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM lens (the old five) in very good plus condition for a BAA record low price of $3699 in mid-June.

New Listings

Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal Extender

Eric Karl is offering a Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal Extender in excellent condition for a very low $8,099. The sale includes the rear lens cap, the lens trunk, the original tough front lens cover, the lens strap, the original product box, and insured ground shipping via major courier to US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Eric via e-mail or by phone at 1-503-272-1055 (Pacific time).

This is the world’s best lens for a trip to Africa. It kills also in the Galapagos and in South Georgia, the Falklands, and Antarctica. And I use mine a lot at Bosque and other dusty places where the built-in TC helps to keep your sensor clean. And I love it in the Palouse for its versatility. The lens sells new at B&H right now for $10,999. You can save a slew of dollars by grabbing Eric’s lens now. artie

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Eric Karl is also offering a Canon 7D Mark II camera in like-new condition with the BG-E16 battery grip for only $1,099. The sale includes the battery grip, the original strap, the charger, the original product boxes, and insured ground shipping via major courier to US addresses only. This camera was purchased on 5/12/15 and used primarily as a backup on only two trips. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Eric via e-mail or by phone at 1-503-272-1055 (Pacific time).

Though I currently own and use two 5DS R and one 1DX Mark II body, I owned and used two 7D II bodies for about two years; several of my 7D II images made the final judging rounds in both the BBC and Nature’s Best competitions. I still feel that it is by far the greatest digital camera body value ever… artie

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

Price Reduced $80 on August 8, 2016.

Multiple IPT-veteran and all around nice guy Sheldon Goldstein is offering a Canon EOS-5D Mark III in excellent plus condition but for a few scuffs on the bottom of the camera for the great price of $1399 (was $1479). The body was just cleaned and checked by Canon; it has only about 16,500 actuations. The sale includes the camera strap, the battery, the battery charger, and the manual.

Please contact Shelly via e-mail or by phone at 1-646-423-0392 (eastern time).

I have owned and used this superb, full frame, 22mp digital body for several years. It was always my first choice for scenic, Urbex, and flower photography until I fell in love with the 5DS R (for a lot more money!). artie

This image was created at Nickerson Beach early on the morning of Monday, August 8 2016. I used the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 2X III, and the mega mega-pixel Canon EOS 5DS R. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop as framed: 1/640 sec. at f/11. Daylight WB. Center AF point (by necessity)/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. The active AF point was on the chick’s neck. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. LensAlign FocusTune micro-adjustment: -5. Black Skimmer–large chick yawning

More Eye-opening Photoshop Criminality…

The RAW conversion and the image optimization here were pretty straight-forward but for the fact that I used a warped Quick Mask to open the chick’s eye just a bit. That plus minimal beach clean-up.

A Different Crop?

Feel free to leave a comment and suggest an alternate crop.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And we are always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above we, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

Facebook

Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack!

Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right 🙂

What’s Up?

I finished this blog post on Saturday morning. I leave with daughter Alissa and husband Ajiniyaz for lunch in the city followed by Jersey Boys on Broadway (the second time for me). I am excited. On Friday I got lots more work done my B&H Event Space programs… See the details below.

Only Bob DeCroce, who was with me on the Nickerson Beach IPT, has signed up for the DeSoto IPT so it is looking like more very intimate small group instruction.

The Streak

Today’s blog post marks a totally insane, irrational, absurd, completely ridiculous, unfathomable, silly, incomprehensible, what’s wrong with this guy?, makes-no-sense, 269 days in a row with a new educational blog post. And I still have dozens of new topics to cover; there should be no end in sight until my big South America trip next fall. As always-–and folks have been doing a really great job recently–-please remember to use our B&H links for your major gear purchases. For best results use one of our many product-specific links; after clicking on one of those you can continue shopping with all subsequent purchases invisibly tracked to BAA. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated. Please remember: web orders only. AND Please remember also that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the new BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.

This image was created on that wonderful Thursday morning (August 3, 2016) at Nickerson Beach. I used the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 2X III, and the fast, rugged Canon EOS-1D X Mark II with 64GB Card and Reader. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/250 sec. at f/10 in Manual mode. Daylight WB. The center AF point/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point fell just below the bird’s eye. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment = 0. Black Skimmer, nearly fledged young

What I Was Thinking

I stood, as I have been doing every morning when approaching the large numbers of skimmers with chicks (well outside the colony ropes) right after sunrise. I move very slowly looking for good situations before getting my butt on the ground. As there were only a few of the larger, nearly fledged young around, I concentrated on them. But I still wound up creating hundreds of images of the smaller, fluffier, whiter chicks.

I chose to work well off sun angle to create today’s featured image in part because the light is not as harsh at 6:15am as it is at 7:15am. In addition, if I had moved all the way to sun angle, I would have been shooting “up the bird’s butt,” that is, with the bird’s tail closer to me than it’s head. The main reason that I chose the perspective that I did was to frame the young bird with the head of one adult and the tail of the other.

Do note that the blue line on the bird’s chest is not a sharpening halo. If you think that you know what caused it, do leave a comment and share your thoughts with the group.

The RAW Conversion

This image was taken so early in the morning that it was actually too yellow and too red, in short, too warm. During the RAW conversion in DPP 4 I tried a few things with the White Balance and wound up converting it at K 4700. In addition, I moved the color Fine Tune dot about 1/4 of the way to the upper left corner, towards CYAN. This cooled the image down nicely while still keeping the early morning light look. Learn why and how Arash Hazeghi and I use DPP 4 for all of our RAW conversions in the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide here.

Once I Started I Couldn’t Stop!

I knew that the two shadows on the left frame-edge had to go, along with the small piece of straw on the sand in front of the bird. After a while, I decided that the o-o-f stuff below the base of the birds bill also had to go. For that I used cloning on a layer in case I painted outside of the lines 🙂 When I started the bill clean-up I was sure that I would just do a bit. Each time I viewed the image full frame I’d see one more little bit that had to go. Before I knew it the fledgling’s bill was so clean that it looked as if he had just gotten back from an ocean bath. What can I say? I could’t help myself.

As far as clean-up, what would you have done with this image if it were yours?

You can learn about all of my clean-up tools, techniques, and shortcuts in Digital Basics which also includes dozens other great Photoshop tips.

B&H August 11, 2016 Event Space Programs

On Thursday, August 11, 2016, I will be presenting two free programs at the B&H Event Space as below. If you would like to attend, it would be best to register asap as both programs have begun filling nicely.

Using Teleconverters with Intermediate and Super Telephotos Lenses: 1:00 to 2:30pm

The word on the street is that you simply cannot make sharp images with teleconverters (TCs) especially with the doublers. Nothing could be further from the truth. With some practice and good sharpness techniques you can learn to use TCs effectively to photograph small, distant, or shy subjects.

Teleconverters or multipliers come in a variety of strengths, most usually 1.4X and 2X. Nikon also offers a 1.7X TCE. Each will multiply your effective focal length by the factor in its name. A 1.4X TC will make your 400mm lens into a 640mm lens. A doubler, aka a 2X TC, will enable your 600mm lens to give you 1200mm of reach.

In this program, Arthur Morris, internationally noted bird photographer and educator, will share the tips, techniques, and secrets that he has developed and used for more than three decades so that you too can use teleconverters to improve your photography. This program will be illustrated with Artie’s spectacular images of birds, wildlife, flowers, and even a few unexpected subjects.

Learn more or register here.

Putting Art into Your Nature Photography: 3:00 to 4:30pm

With today’s amazing photographic gear that includes camera bodies with surreal autofocus that can routinely produce superb image files in the right hands and fast, sharp lenses (including and especially the amazing super-telephotos) creating images of various birds, animals, flowers, and landscapes, is pretty much child’s play. Anyone can do it. In this program, Arthur Morris, internationally noted bird photographer and educator, will teach you to take your images to the next level. You will learn to identify good situations, to create pleasing backgrounds, to photograph action and behavior, to choose the best perspective, to read and use the light, when and how to create pleasing blurs, and how to consistently create dramatic, evocative images with contest-winning potential.

This program will be illustrated with several hundred of Artie’s spectacular images, many published around the world above his most fitting credit line: BIRDS AS ART.

Learn more or register here.

Fort DeSoto in fall is rife with tame birds. All of the images in this card were created at Fort DeSoto in either late September or early October. I hope that you can join me there this fall one way or another. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

BIRDS AS ART Fort DeSoto In-the-Field Meet-up Workshop (ITFW): $99

Join me on the morning of October 2, 2016 for 3-hours of photographic instruction at Fort DeSoto Park. Beginners are welcome. Lenses of 300mm or longer are recommended but even those with 70-200s should get to make some nice images. Teleconverters are always a plus.

You will learn the basics of digital exposure and image design, autofocus basics, and how to get close to free and wild birds. We should get to photograph a variety of wading birds, shorebirds, terns, and gulls. This inexpensive morning workshop is designed to give folks a taste of the level and the quality of instruction that is provided on BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-tours. I hope to meet you there.

To register please call Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours with a credit card in hand to pay the nominal registration fee. Your registration fee is non-refundable. You will receive a short e-mail with instructions, gear advice, and meeting place one week before the event.

Folks attending the IPT will be in the field early and stay out late to take advantage of sunrise and sunset colors. The good news is that the days are relatively short in early fall. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

Fort DeSoto Short Notice Fall IPT/September 28 (meet & greet and afternoon session) through the full day on October 1, 2016. 3 1/2 DAYs: $1549. Limit 10. Sunday morning ITFW free to IPT registrants.

Fort DeSoto, located just south of St. Petersburg, FL, is a mecca for migrant shorebirds in fall. There they join dozens of egrets, herons, night-herons, gulls, and terns who winter on the T-shaped peninsula that serves as their wintering grounds. With any luck, we should get to photograph two of Florida’s most desirable shorebird species: Marbled Godwit and the spectacular Long-billed Curlew. Black-bellied Plover and Willet are easy, American Oystercatcher likely. Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, and Tricolored Heron are easy as well and we will almost surely come up with a tame Yellow-crowned Night-Heron or two. We should get to do some Brown Pelican flight photography. And Royal, Sandwich, Forster’s, and Caspian Terns will likely provide us with some good flight opportunities as well. Though not guaranteed, Roseate Spoonbill and Wood Stork would not be unexpected.

Folks who sign up for the IPT are welcome to join me as my guest on the ITFW on the Sunday morning following the workshop. See above for details on that.

On this and all other IPTs you will learn basics and fine points of digital exposure and to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure, how to approach free and wild birds without disturbing them, to understand and predict bird behavior, to identify and age many species of shorebirds, to spot the good situations, to choose the best perspective, to see and understand the light, to, and to design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system. And you will learn learn how and why to work in Manual mode (even if you’re scared of it).

At brunch (included) we will review my images–folks learn a ton watching me edit–why keep this one and delete that one. If you opt to bring your laptop, we can take a look at a few of your images from the morning session. We will process a few of my images in Photoshop after converting them in DPP. That followed by Instructor Nap Time.

As I already have one signed up for this workshop, it is a go. Hotel info will be e-mailed when you register. The best airport is Tampa (TPA). It is always best if IPT folks stay in the same hotel so if you are interested it would be a good idea to register now and make your hotel reservations as soon as you hear from us. We can, however, coordinate with local folks who opt to stay at home.

Because of the relatively late date, payment is full is due upon registration either by check or credit card. If the former, please e-mail us immediately so that we can save you a spot. If the latter, please call Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand to register. Your registration fee is non-refundable unless the IPT sells out with eight so please check your plans carefully before committing. You will receive a confirmation e-mail with detailed instructions and gear & clothing advice a fairly soon.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the New BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And we are always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above we, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

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Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right 🙂